Stephen Dunmoye
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, PGMOL, has removed assistant referee, Constantine Hatzidakis who was spotted elbowing Liverpool’s player, Andy Robertson from officiating any Premier League games until after an investigation by the Football Association.
The decision, which was announced on Monday afternoon has been branded as ‘totally wrong’ by Stuart Pearce, as he questioned whether players would get the same treatment.
No action was taken against Hatzidakis during the game, but he will now be out of action for the foreseeable.
Hatzidakis was at the centre of the drama at Anfield on Sunday afternoon as Liverpool took on Arsenal and he appeared to elbow Reds defender Andy Robertson at half-time.
Despite the Scotsman and his teammate’s protests to the referee at the break, the assistant referee reappeared for the second 45 minutes.
However, following the final whistle of the dramatic 2-2 draw, the PGMOL announced it was aware of the incident which was caught on film by the TV cameras at the game.
In a statement released on Monday, the PGMOL said: “PGMOL will not be appointing Constantine Hatzidakis to fixtures in any of the competition it serves whilst The FA investigates the incident involving the assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield.”
Some have called for Hatzidakis to get an eight-game ban like Alexsandar Mitrovic did for his interaction with the referee at Old Trafford, including former Premier League referee Mark Halsey.
But Pearce believes the decision to stand down the assistant referee is ‘totally wrong’
However talkSPORT’s Stuart Pearce isn’t convinced the situation is being handled correctly.
“I think it’s totally wrong. I equate it to myself when I was a player. It’s like suspending me while you have a look at an incident I might be found innocent of,” he explained on Monday’s White and Jordan.
“It’s ridiculous. I don’t think you can stand him down. You’ve got to look into it, make a decision accordingly, but don’t stand him down while you’re doing so.
“He’s got a career. Would you stand a player down? Would you have stood Mitrovic down when he was waiting for his punishment? It’s ridiculous.”
